For me, September always brings a breath of fresh air with it, both literally (the heat is gone) and metaphorically with the year slipping into the latter end.

It's also the time of year when I get twitchy. And by that, I mean, I start nesting. I love autumn and winter, the "ber" months are the best in my opinion, but being inside all the time can still take it's toll so I do my best to make the hibernation period a little better.

That means deep cleaning, tackling any decorating projects, and bringing in a few fall touches.

This year, it also means a lot of decluttering because after months of neglecting my living space (yay, depression) it's lost some of it's homeliness in amongst the stuff.

So, as I move from room to room, I'm going to take you guys with me, showing you how I got rid of the excess and organised what was left, as well as rounding up the autumnal items I've already started to stick in a few different corners.

I can't wait to get started so if you have any hints or product recommendations, just let me know!

Guys, I got hit hard by a bug over the last few weeks. Not only was I ill but it impacted other aspects of my physical health that already suck (ow my joints) and my mental health took a bit of stumble too.

Today is the first time in a few weeks where I've actually been well enough to sit down with the laptop and type something.. and let me tell you, my inbox was a nightmare. I almost wanted to just delete everything there, still unread, but I persisted and now it's empty and all replies have been sent. If you've messaged me on twitter/facebook/instagram it might take me another day or two to get to you, but I've also replied to any blog comments so hopefully I'll be caught up soon.

It's a nice time to be getting back into action though, because it's finally September, which for me is the start of the best time of the year; the "ber" months. It's a good moment to breathe some fresh air into the blog as well. [I hope!]

What have I got planned over the next few weeks and months as we head towards the latter end of 2019? Well, I'm going to declutter my house one space at a time, as well as trying to tidy it up and really make it feel more like home. I've also got a couple of reviews for you, and I want to try out more subscription boxes so send your recommendations my way! And, I still hope to cover some health aspects too.

So, if there's something you want to see, let me know. If you've been under the weather lately too, I'm sending a (non-germy) hug your way. And if you're as excited about September as I am, happy almost end of summer!

See you soon.

This was a real case of happy mail for me, a box filled with 6 summery items that I couldn't wait to try out!

First up, Starbucks DoublesShot Espresso. I'm a big coffee lover and can't get my day started without at least 1 cup so this was perfect for me and tasted soooooo good.

The Carabao Green Apple energy drink wasn't for me. I just didn't like the tatste but did appreciate it's lower sugar content at just 63 calories a can.

The Cheeky Panda tissues were perfect because I'm always looking for new ways to be eco-friendly and these are so soft on your face!

The Rhubarb and Custard RetroCorn was delicious (they were my favourite sweets as a kid) but the Italian Stallion flavour wasn't really my cup of tea as I don't usually go for savoury popcorn anyway.

The final item was the Drgn Tumeric Superdrink, and I liked that it didn't have caffeine in it and it was very refreshing, but the taste just wasn't quite right for me to drink it often. I would be interested in other flavours though!

Anyone else get a Triyit box? Let me know what you thought!

So on the off-chance that you noticed I haven't been around much lately, here's the reason why. I just couldn't. And that covered almost everything in my life, but especially blogging.

As someone who already struggles with depression and anxiety, burnout is an old friend, but it hit me hard this time around.

I had no interest in even putting on makeup, nevermind buying it and reviewing it for you guys.

I cancelled both my Pink Parcel and Birchbox subscriptions because they were simply sitting unused on my desk (which wasn't getting much action either).

It's been difficult.

But, I think and I hope, that I'm back now, at least a little bit. I'm wearing makeup for the first time in ages, I'm dressed in something other than workout clothes and my brain isn't a buzzing foggy mess.

So what's it going to look like here on lifeappears.com in the foreseeable future? Well, I'm not going to restart the two subscription boxes I've already mentioned but I am aiming to try out at least one new (to me) subscription box a month, it might be books, tea or gardening focussed, who knows! I'm hoping to write more openly about my issues with both a chronic physical illness and mental health problems, and how I deal with them.

Basically, I'm hoping to lift some of the pressure I was feeling and just making the blog a happy place again!

Know a subscription box or product I should feature? Let me know. Got a book recommendation? Tell me! I want to talk to you guys more so even just a quick hello in the comments or over on instagram/twitter would be a good way to start, right?

See you soon.